Inside Business
In their restoration plans they wanted to reflect the colourful history of Rectory Mansion , which is built on the site of an earlier Anglo Saxon dwelling . Parts of the present Tudor building date back to 1228 and it is reputed to be the oldest dwelling standing , and probably the only close-studded house on the Isle of Wight . Many of the magnificent carved oak timbers are estimated to be over 1,000 years old , and the original walls are ‘ wattle and daub ’. There are few houses in the British Isles that have been associated with such colourful , tragic and historical characters as this old house . In 1260 on the death of Bishop Aymer de Valence of Winchester , the property passed to Henry III , and later following the dissolution of the monasteries , to Henry VIII . It was later on that the house was put to more commercial use , when German Richards , Vice-Admiral of the Isle of Wight turned it into a brew-house , selling local beer to the British Fleet which frequently lay at anchor off Brading Harbour . A similar use continued throughout the prosperous Elizabethan times until quite modern times with the house being used as a seaside coaching
inn , conveniently positioned at the end of the Town Quay . It is during this period when it was called the Crown Inn that the French Spy , Louis de Rochefort was murdered in one of the upstairs rooms . Now painstakingly restored , the beautiful early Tudor timberframed structure with its thatched roof and galleried courtyard has been aptly re-opened as an Antiques , Vintage and Retro Emporium , full of collectible treasures and quirky finds . The waxworks heritage is retained in the shape of the Waxworks Café , owned and run by Lucy Hayward . It ’ s situated within the Emporium , so browsers can relax and enjoy hot and cold drinks , snacks , light lunches and home-made cakes . In addition , part of the building has just been re-opened as the Heima restaurant by top chef Max Rosenberg . Amongst other venues , Max trained under Rene Redzepi at the two Michelin-starred Noma in Copenhagen , which greatly influences his style of cuisine . Shortly before the business partners bought Rectory Mansion , John was working on reprocessing tailings and waste ore left over from an area mined over 1000 years ago , around the11th century . Clearly he ’ s a man with a fascination for reviving treasures from the past . www . visitilife . com 47